"Great One-Eyed Deity, when I get back, I'm definitely settling the score with Teacher Kaede."
After hanging up, Kisaragi Akira felt a sudden ache in his teeth.
Half a year ago, he'd been a frail boy who had to run away even from an ordinary Hollow.
And now, he'd actually survived a pursuit by a Menos Grande and a horde of Hollows.
Shutara Senjumaru really thought highly of him.
"Dance of the Earth can hold back the Hekisa Hollow horde for a while. All we have to do now is focus on the Menos Grande."
"I just don't know whether it's a Gillian or an Adjuchas..."
Aizen analyzed the situation calmly, without the slightest hint of panic.
"Could it be a Vasto Lorde?"
Kisaragi Akira chimed in, and was immediately met with a look reserved for idiots.
Whether they could survive an Adjuchas was another matter. If it was a Vasto Lorde, they could start considering how to die with a little more dignity.
While the two were talking,
the earth in the distance began to tremble again. Reiatsu, condensed into something almost tangible, spread in all directions through the cracks in the ground, like ripples. Everything it touched trembled.
Seeing this, Kisaragi Akira could only exclaim that it was terrifying.
He'd imagined encountering a Menos Grande countless times, but never once had the situation resembled this.
The oppressive force continued to surge up from underground. The ground caved in, forming a massive pit, and freshly churned soil sank into it. Sharp legs glinted as they climbed out, until the creature was fully revealed before the two of them.
It was another member of the Hekisa clan.
The difference was that it was several times larger than its kin. The legs on either side of its body alone stood several